Engineering Heritage Queensland oral histories

This item contains an interview of chemical engineer Peter Cardno Brooks about his career. The interview was conducted on the 31 January 1996. The interviewer is unknown.

Peter Cardno Brooks (1917-) is the son of a Scottish immigrant. Peter grew up on his father’s cane farm and attended secondary school at Thornburgh College, Charters Towers. He studied chemistry for half of each year from 1935-1938 at Singleton College in Brisbane working in the sugar mills in the Mackay area for the remaining 6 months of each year.

Peter then worked as a chemist at Castlemaine Perkins Brewery studying teaching in the evening at Teachers Training College before studying industrial chemistry at the University of Queensland (U.Q.) from 1940-1943. Peter worked for Timrol Ltd. in Rhodes, Sydney, between about 1944-1946 and joined the army during World War 2.

In about 1945, he started work at U.Q. as a lecturer and researcher and remaining at U.Q. became involved with the Queensland sugar industry from 1946-1949. In 1952, Peter then studied industrial chemistry at U.Q. before winning a Fulbright Scholarship which him to work and study in the U.S.A. between 1952-1954. While overseas, Peter completed further study in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).

Peter was a member of the Queensland branch of the Australian Chemical [Institute], serving as their president in 1957. Peter married in 1958. Peter retired from U.Q. in 1982 after 37 years of service.

This item contains an interview of electrical and mechanical engineer Dr. Douglas Row Mercer about his career. The interview was conducted on the 2 September 2011 with interviewer Penny Langfield. 

Dr. Doug Mercer wanted to be an engineer from a young age. After attending secondary school at Brisbane Boys’ College (B.B.C.), Doug won a government scholarship to study electrical and mechanical engineering at the University of Queensland (U.Q.) completing the degree with honours in 1945. The course was difficult and through it he had work experience at the Brisbane Tramways workshop on Milton Road; the steel works at Port Kembla, the City Electric Light Company in Brisbane and the Hydro-electric Commission of Tasmania.

In [1946], Doug started work at the City Electric Light Company in Brisbane in the drawing office. He then became an assistant test engineer responsible for the testing of equipment. The City Electric Light Company supplied equipment as far south as Murwillumbah, as far north as just past Gympie and as far west as Toowoomba. The job required a lot of driving at all hours. He then became involved in a project for the company measuring the transient voltages that occur during lightning and when high voltage switches were operated. Doug was able to use the research to achieve a Masters in Engineering at U.Q. awarded in 1960. Doug continued researching the effects of lightning on electrical equipment and was able to bring the failure rate of transformers in storms down to best practice levels.

Doug remained with the company and its successive organisations the Southern Electric Authority of Queensland, the Queensland Electricity Generating Board and the Queensland Electricity Commission for 40 years retiring in 1986. He continued his research on the effects of lightning on electrical equipment for 8-9 years as an honourary researcher at U.Q.. He then earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts at U.Q. followed by a Ph.D. thesis on the history of the protection of power systems from lightning awarded in 2002. Doug received an Award of Merit from Engineers Australia in June 2011. Doug’s other interests were tennis, golf and building a variety of boats for his children. Doug died in [2013].

Engineering Heritage Australia (Queensland branch) members Brian Becconsall and Kevin Haley were also present at the interview. The video was directed and produced by Dr. John Cokley of the University and Queensland.